Saudi Arabia signed a private deal earlier this year with Houston’s Axiom Space, which arranges and manages private space missions for researchers and tourists, Reuters reported.
The two astronauts will launch to space in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, early next year. They will be the first from the Kingdom to go into space on a private spacecraft, they will be going to the International Space Station for a stay that will last around a week.
The Saudi astronauts will join retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and race car driver and investor John Shoffner, the mission, called Ax-2, will be the second spaceflight arranged by Axiom, as reported by Reuters.
Axiom launched its first private mission to the space station in April, which included a four-man crew sent to the space station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. Axiom on Monday also announced a deal with Turkey to launch the country’s first two astronauts into space in late 2023.
The amount paid for each seat on the Dragon Capsule is not confirmed, however, each Dragon Crew seat on the company’s first mission sold for $55 million each.
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